In recent years the development of fire retardant compounds has become of considerable commercial importance in that such articles as castings, moldings, foamed or laminated articles, etc., are required, or at least desired, to be resistant to fire and flame and to possess the ability to endure heat without extensive deterioration. Typical illustrations of applications of such compounds include castings for live electrical contacts which should not be ignited by flame or sparks, structural members such as pipes, wall coverings, wall paneling, windows, etc., and such items as ash trays, waste baskets, fibers and the like.
The use of certain additives for the purpose of reducing the flammability of various substrates is well known to those skilled in the art. Among the additives currently employed for such a use are various specific types of phosphorus containing compounds. These phosphorus compounds are generally used alone or in combination with other materials. Certain analogous materials such as chlorostyrene copolymers, chlorinated paraffin waxes, alone or with antimony oxide or phosphorus compounds are also known to be effective flame retardants for resinous materials.
It is an object of the instant invention to provide useful flame retardant compounds. It is also an object of this invention to provide intermediates for the preparation of other chemical compounds. It is a further object of this invention to provide a process for the production of polyhaloindenes in high yields and high purity. Further, it is an object of the instant invention to provide a process for the preparation of polyhaloindene intermediates useful for the production of other compounds. It is still another object of this invention to provide a simple process for the production of polyhaloindenes. These and other objects will become more apparent from the following discussion.